The thermal coal futures contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange slumped 8.6% to CNY941 ($146.88) per ton on Friday, its lowest since September 10. That fell 27.6% for the week, the sharpest weekly decline since September 2016. The futures have been down 52.5% from their record high of CNY1,982 per ton on October 19 but remained up around 80% from the start of the year.
The decline on Friday came after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that its initial investigations showed that coal production costs are significantly below the current spot coal prices, signalling more room to adjust coal prices. However, spot prices have not declined at the same pace. Spot prices at the port of Guangzhou plunged nearly 20% this week but remained twice as high as the futures contract at roughly CNY2,000 ($312.17) per ton.
